It was a nervous time. World War II had started, and British ships were always watching for German submarines called U-boats. The ship Ben Lomond had left Cape Town, South Africa, with a crew of 55, including a young officer named Poon Lim.
On November 23, 1942, the worst fear came true. The Ben Lomond was attacked by a U-boat. Within minutes the boat was sinking. Poon Lim grabbed a life jacket and leaped over the side. He swam rapidly away from the ship in case it exploded. Sure enough, it let out a large boom and sank beneath the waves. For two hours Poon Lim struggled in the water. Once he almost got onto a life raft with five other sailors, but it got away from his grasp. Then he saw another life raft that was empty, swam to it, and climbed aboard. He found a few cans of biscuits, a water jug, some flares, and a flashlight, which could be enough supplies for about a month.
Day after day Poon Lim had his few biscuits and a couple of sips of water. He searched the horizon for ships. Twice he leaped up to shout and wave when he saw help coming. Once he saw a freight ship. It passed him. At a later time, he saw a United States Navy plane. It flew low over the raft but then disappeared. Still later a U-boat spotted him but for some reason left him alone.
Poon Lim knew he needed to stay strong. He couldn’t get much exercise on an eight-foot-square raft, but he could swim. A couple of times a day, he circled the raft, always watching for sharks. Soon his food and water ran low. He knew that drinking seawater would make him sick, so he tore off the canvas cover on his life jacket and set it out to catch rainwater. Then he took apart the flashlight and used a wire inside to make a fishhook. For months Poon Lim drifted, catching fish and sometimes birds. One time he even caught a shark. Finally, after 130 days, he noticed that the color of the water was changing. Two days later, on his 133rd day, he saw a boat. Three sailors in a small sailboat picked him up and took him to Belem, a city on the coast of Brazil. Poon Lim had crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
No one ever had survived longer on a raft at sea. Poon Lim received many honors, including Britain’s highest award. A booklet of his survival methods was put into every British life raft.
1.What happened just after Poon Lim’s ship was hit?
A.It immediately exploded.
B.Poon Lim jumped over the side.
C.Poon Lim found a life raft.
D.The U-boat picked up survivors.
2.What did Poon Lim do just after his food and water ran low?
A.He jumped up and down and waved, hoping to attract help.
B.He went swimming, hoping to find some fish.
C.He made a rain catcher and some fishing equipment.
D.He spotted a United States Navy plane.
3.Which of these things happened last?
A.Poon Lim noticed that the water had changed color.
B.Poon Lim landed in a Brazilian city.
C.Some sailors picked up Poon Lim.
D.Poon Lim caught a shark with his fishhook.
4.Why was Poon Lim presented with many honors?
A.He had voyaged the longest time on the Atlantic Ocean.
B.He managed to spend 133 days on a life raft with determination.
C.He had a knowledge of survival methods on the sea.
D.He didn’t surrender himself to German U-boats.
What if you could take your drawing pen and simply scan any color you want and then turn around and draw with it? This new pen design allows you to do that. That is Scribble. And it’s very easy to use.
·How does Scribble work?
The built-in RGB sensor (传感器) lets you easily get any color — simply point it at an object and press the button! Red, green and blue inks are then mixed — much like in a traditional printer — to create your desired color.
·Different tips
The Scribble Pen (for paper) comes with three different sizes of drawing tips. Scribble is perfect for both drawing and writing. The Scribble Stylus Pen comes with two different tips — hard tip and soft tip. It works on more than just paper; it can be used for drawing or writing on your mobile device.
·Rechargeable battery
Scribble’s battery is rechargeable and lightweight. The Scribble Pen’s battery lasts seven hours. And the Scribble Stylus Pen’s battery lasts as long as 15 hours.
·Price
The regular price of a Scribble Pen is US$400. Now, you can have it at 40% off the regular price. And you can have a Scribble Stylus Pen at US$119 (save US$80). You also need to pay US$15 for postage. Remember to choose the color you want. At present, we offer five colors for you to choose from. If you are an artist, you really need a pen like this. It’s the last pen you will ever need to buy.
To learn more information about the products you can visit our website.
1.What can we learn about Scribble from the passage?
A.It is connected to a printer.
B.It is lighter than an ordinary pen.
C.It doesn’t need electricity to work.
D.It can be used for both drawing and writing.
2.Which is true about the Scribble Stylus Pen?
A.It works best on paper.
B.It can create five colors at present.
C.It is initially designed for mobile devices.
D.It has a better battery life than the Scribble Pen.
3.If you buy a Scribble Pen now, how much should you pay in total?
A.US$175. B.US$240.
C.US$255. D.US$260.
Since we are social beings，the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships.
One strength of the human condition is our tendency to give and receive support from one another under stressful circumstances. Social support consists of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties.
Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily difficulties. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over a range of illnesses，from depression to heart disease，show that the presence of social support helps people protect themselves from illness，and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First，friends，relatives，and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others despite our faults and difficulties.
Second，other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to explain and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third，we typically find social companionship supportive. Engaging in leisure-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting(转移……注意力)us from our worries and troubles. Finally，other people may give us instrumental support-financial aid，material resources，and needed services-that reduces stress by helping us solve and deal with our problems.
1.Research shows that people's physical and mental health has much to do with ______ .
A.the social medical system
B.the amount of support they get from others
C.their strength for dealing with interpersonal ties
D.their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles
2.The underlined word "cushions" probably means" ______ ".
A.adds up to B.lessens the effect of
C.does away with D.lays the foundation for
3.Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work is an example of ______ .
A.important support
B.instrumental support
C.social activity
D.the strengthening of self-respect
4.Social companionship is beneficial in that ______ .
A.it helps strengthen our ties with relatives
B.it enables us to get rid of our faults and mistakes
C.it makes our leisure-time activities more enjoyable
D.it draws our attention away from our worries and troubles
The letter arrives from a school that your son told you is his dream school. You dare not open it，instead，you hand it to him when he arrives home from school. You watch as his eyes light up and you know this is the beginning of something. You are just not sure what. Your son insists that the coach must really want him since he took the time to write him a letter. Is this in fact true？Did he write other kids and if so how many？How would you know？
The simple fact of the matter is that you can read very little into that first letter. Coaches cast a wide net in the first few stages of the recruiting(录取)cycle. That letter may in fact，be the first and last time your son ever hears from that particular coach. Think about it：if he has not seen your sons transcripts or his standardized test scores，if you have not visited the school，if he has no knowledge of your financial needs，can it be anything significant？
So how do you treat these letters or emails？Is there some format you can apply？Say tor instance，three letters mean real interest…or three letters and a call means a greater degree of interest？
My experience in deal with cases of various applications is that answers will not come automatically. Call the coach and find out how real the interest in fact is. "Is my son a top recruit in your mind？" "How many players at his position will you be recruiting this year?" By asking these simple and direct questions，you as a parent，will have established a dialogue and hopefully figured out how much interest，if any really exists. However，here comes the challenge. Applicants and parents are vague with coaches about their intention and level of interest all the time. In fact，the coach's situation is no less confusing than yours. He is fighting a similar battle on multiple choices. There is little clarity on either end.
Enjoy that first letter. Let's hope it is one of many and let's hope you apply a bit of realism with a bit of wishful thinking about how happy your son should be when this is all over.
1.How did the parent feel about the letter that his son got from his dreamed school？ ______
A.expectant B.hesitant
C.doubtful D.hopeful
2.According to the passage，by calling the coach，parents can______ .
A.determine the level of interest from coach
B.build up a communication with the coach
C.identify the real intention of the coach
D.understand more about the situation of the coach
3.The author of the passage is most likely to be ______ .
A.a consultant to help students with their application
B.a parent with similar experiences
C.a school authority that supervises the application
D.a coach in charge of the application
4.The purpose of the passage is to ______ .
A.remind parents of the importance of the first letter from coaches
B.tell parents how to react to the first letter from coaches
C.advise parents to ignore the first letter from coaches
D.warn parents to be realistic towards the first letter from coaches
Several months ago I decided it would be wise to investigate the possibilities of buying a life insurance policy，if for no other reason than because I understood it might be a good investment. I got the name of an insurance agent from a friend and called the agent to get some information.
From the kinds of questions I put to him，the agent would tell that I knew nothing about insurance so he kindly offered to explore the matter with me in more detail -to help me determine the kind of policy I ought to be considering.
That evening he appeared at my door promptly at 7：30；without wasting time on amenities he spread his papers out on the kitchen table and launched into a lengthy explanation. I listened attentively as he talked about the difference between various types of policies，and he explained the kind of coverage he felt I ought to have because of my age bracket and financial objectives. Toward the end of the evening (after three or four hours of talking)，he kindly helped me fill out an application for a 50，000 dollar policy，and then he asked if I could go to a Dr. Luther's office on Friday for a physical examination.
I don't know why，but it was not until the mention of the doctor's appointment that I realized fully what was happening. I was about to sign a lifetime contract yet I had not really made a decision about whether I wanted to buy the policy or not. As a matter of fact，the question of the need for a decision from me one way or the other had not even come up. Suddenly I felt sure that I definitely did not want to buy the policy. However, since he had spent so much time with me，I didn't want to make him feel that he had wasted his time. So I invented an excuse about things I had to do on Friday，and I assured him I would call him in a few days. Actually，I had no intention of going to see Dr. Luther or of calling the agent again. I wanted to forget the whole thing.
It's been over three months now since our meeting，and my friendly insurance agent still calls at my office faithfully two or three times a week. My secretary knows that I don't want to talk to him，so when he calls she tells him that I'm in a meeting or that I'm out of the office or that I'm away on a business trip. I realize now that it was a mistake not to tell him outright that I'm not interested，and please not to bother me any more，all I can do is to avoid his calls and hope I don't run into him someplace.
1.The writer phoned the insurance agent because ______ .
A.He wanted to fill out an application for a life insurance policy.
B.He had decided to buy a life insurance policy.
C.He wanted to explore the possibilities of buying a life insurance policy.
D.He took great interest in the insurance company.
2.According to the passage，the agent was ______ .
A.an experienced salesman B.kind but inexperienced
C.ineffective D.easy to deal with
3.The writer didn't tell the agent the truth because ______ .
A.he was afraid of him.
B.he felt embarrassed to do so.
C.he thought it none of the agent's business.
D.he didn't wish to lose the agents friendship.
4.The writer realizes that ______ .
A.he should have told the truth to the agent earlier.
B.he should buy the policy.
C.the agent is a real friend.
D.insurance is but swindle(骗局)
In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet,despite the competition,my -year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest,a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests,and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn't win the contest again? That's the strange thing about being a parent.
So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
A revelation(启示)came last week when I asked her, " Don't you want to win again？" No," she replied," I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade. "
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously(自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall,I offered suggestions for characters,conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly "guided" by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade,I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting(借用)my daughter's experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me,it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps,putting myself far enough a way to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment， grow and find their own voices.
1.What do we learn from the first paragraph？
A.A lot of distractions compete for children's time nowadays.
B.Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities.
C.Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy her leisure time.
D.Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing.
2.What did the author say about her own writing experience？
A.She was constantly under pressure of writing more.
B.Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.
C.She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.
D.Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations.
3.Why did Rebecca want to enter this year's writing contest？
A.She had won a prize in the previous contest.
B.She wanted to share her stories with readers.
C.She was sure of winning with her mother's help.
D.She believed she possessed real talent for writing.
